Is Antwerp Safe in January 2026?

Groups of two or three pickpockets work the crowded concourses and platforms of Antwerpen-Centraal and the busy premetro and tram lines toward Meir and Groenplaats. One member creates a distraction—asking directions, blocking an escalator, or jostling at the doors as a tram arrives—while an accomplice lifts phones and wallets from pockets and open bags. Activity peaks at rush hour and when large groups crowd the gates.

How to avoid: Wear a crossbody bag zipped and held in front, keep your phone in a front pocket, and never set bags down at gates or escalators. Be especially wary when a stranger crowds you or starts a conversation in a packed space, and check your belongings immediately after any jostle.

On trains arriving at and departing Antwerpen-Centraal, well-dressed thieves target bags placed on overhead racks or set down on benches. One operator engages you with a question—often whether the train stops at a certain station—while a second person removes a camera bag, laptop or backpack within seconds. Travelers have reported losing passports and cash from overhead racks in under thirty seconds while answering a stranger.

How to avoid: Keep valuables on your lap or between your feet, never on overhead racks or end-of-carriage luggage stacks. If someone starts an oddly persistent conversation while you handle your bags, keep one hand on your belongings and watch the people around you, not just the person talking.

People with clipboards, sometimes claiming to collect for a deaf or disabled charity, thrust an official-looking petition at tourists around the Grote Markt and Meir and ask you to sign. After signing they demand a cash 'donation,' and while your hands and attention are on the clipboard an accomplice can pick your pocket or open your bag. The petition is usually in English, a sign it targets visitors rather than locals.

How to avoid: Do not stop, sign, or engage; keep walking and say no clearly. Keep one hand on your bag if approached, and never get out cash to make a clipboard 'donation' on the street.

In the diamond quarter some dealers sell stones that are laser-drilled, fracture-filled with silicon, or lab-grown synthetic, while charging the price of untreated natural diamonds. A Belgian fraud case found hundreds of small stones in a parcel were synthetic, and buyers have discovered purchases worth a fraction of what they paid. Treated and synthetic stones have little resale value, and tourists are targeted because they rarely return to complain.

How to avoid: Buy only from established dealers and insist on an independent GIA or AGS certificate that matches the stone; if a seller cannot produce one, walk out. Ignore anyone offering a 'special deal' or steering you off the street, and consider having any significant stone re-checked by a separate lab before paying.

Drivers at the Antwerpen-Centraal taxi rank sometimes run meters faster than normal, take roundabout routes claiming not to know a short address, or demand extra waiting fees on top of the metered fare. Travelers have reported being charged around 20 to 28 euros for short central rides that should cost roughly half that, and being refused a receipt after a fare was 'negotiated.'

How to avoid: Use only licensed taxis with a roof sign and the 'TX' plate, insist the meter runs from the start, and know that fares are fixed by the city. Note the taxi number and company so you can complain, ask for a receipt, or use a ride-hailing app to get a fixed price up front.